I was challenged today by someone who claimed that I, as a lowly parent, couldn't possibly manage to educate my children in the skills of blindness. This was my response:

I guess take this for what it's worth, since my more blind children are still preschoolers. But I do have four other children that are old enough to be allowed some freedoms away from home, one of whom has another physical disability and is autistic and is mildly visually impaired, so I'm not flying totally blind here.

It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since Kender was born at home. And yet so much has changed here in the last year that sometimes it seems much longer. Time, as always, slips away too quickly. I never feel like I got enough "itty bitty baby" time, but watching him reach each developmental milestone is so amazing that regret can't stick around.

Brenden had his first Exam Under Anesthesia (EUA) yesterday. He'd been reporting floaters off and on this year, but Dr. Trese never saw anything when examining him in the office. Because he'd seen some kids fit that profile and wind up actually having more problems when looked at under anesthesia, Dr. Trese recommended having Brenden come in for a look. It was a very long day, with Brenden originally scheduled for a 2:30pm procedure but not getting taken back until 4:30pm (he was a very hungry little boy!).

I've spent most of today working on it, but I've finally gotten the website transferred over to the new Drupal setup. Some of it I was able to automatically import, but some had to be done and cleaned up by hand, so it's been a bit of a tedious task. But it's done now. I'm really liking Drupal so far, and I have some pretty cool ideas of some new things I can do with the website now. At the very least, I've been able to make it look nice again, and it will be much easier to update and add new content! Take a look around and enjoy!

Raspberries are a pain to harvest, but they sure are plentiful and fun to eat! The black raspberries we planted in our garden several years ago have finally started to bear fruit. Plus, black raspberries grow wild in Michigan, and you can find a profusion of them down every trail and along every tree break. We have enough wild raspberries within walking distance of home to satisfy all of us!

Well, I guess the first order of business is announcing our newest addition! Kender Allyn Hunt was born at home on July 22, 2008, weighing in at 10 pounds 8 ounces. He's a big chunky monkey, just like his big brothers were, and everybody just loves him. We named him after the Allyn branch of my mother's ancestors, who we recently found out actually come from Vermontville, Michigan, just up the road from where we live now.

It's just one of those things you have to deal with when you have a grill outside that sits unused for a season. Every spring, something will have invaded, and you have to chase it out before you can use your grill again. Every year here in Michigan, it's been wasps. They crawl into the main grill space, even into the legs through the bolt holes, and I have to go out there and hose the thing down with wasp spray before I can use it.

Today was the last day of the big kids' first session of swimming lessons. The boys missed out because they are still sick (and I wish I had stayed home!), but the girls were able to go. Caitlin officially graduated level 1, complete with a Red Cross certificate, so next session she will be in the level 2 class with Tamara. The boys are still in level 1. Yay Caitlin!

Well, it's time to announce it to the world. Brenden, Tamara, Caitlin, and Liam will be starting school this fall at Cedar St. Elementary here in Mason. Elayne's fibromyalgia has gotten to the point that she can barely keep up, and while we really feel that a change in climate would help, financially it's not possible at this time. So the kids will go into school, and Elayne will ramp back up on working from home, saving up the funds to make the move to a better place. Elayne is not happy about this at all, but the option is always there to pull them back out if things don't go well.

Margaret Elayne Buck Yard passed away last Friday night. She was a wonderful woman who gave everything to her family. She made all of us feel welcome at her home anytime, even those of us who weren't born to her family. She loved to create things. I always remember her as making something, ceramics, porcelain, crochet, handmade dolls, clothing. She taught me some of those skills. I missed out on others. She made the best shrimp gumbo in the world, and I learned that recipe from her, as she learned it from her daddy. My mother and her brothers remembered her spirit.